George Zimmermann, vice president of Travel Michigan, will share the story behind Pure Michigan, one of the world's most successful tourism campaigns, during a free program at Eastern Michigan University.

Zimmermann will share his insights behind the award-winning Pure Michigan campaign in EMU's Student Center Ballroom Monday, July 9 at 11 a.m. The one-hour event is open to the public.

The campaign had its strongest returns and paid its greatest dividends in 2011, as the brand gained further traction nationally and drew more people to the state.

According to data from Longwoods International, a travel consulting firm, a $10.5 million national cable television ad campaign drove 1.2 million visits to Michigan in 2011 by out-of-state travelers who spent an estimated $465.5 million and generated a $3.11 return on investment for every dollar spent.

That compares with about 900,000 out-of-state visitors who spent $313 million in 2010 from a national cable TV campaign using the Pure Michigan brand. As a result, Pure Michigan generated nearly $1 billion in spending by visitors in 2011.

Since 2006, the Pure Michigan campaign overall has generated

10.4 million trips to the state

$2.97 billion in visitor spending

$208.1 million in state sales tax revenue

$3.70 Return on Investment for every dollar spent

In recognition of the campaign's success, Forbes Magazine ranks Pure Michigan in the Top 10 all time for tourism promotion campaigns worldwide.